Neuropediatrics 2006; 37 - PS1_6_4
DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-943593

TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY IN CHILDHOOD; COGNITIVE OUTCOME TEN YEARS LATER

I Emanuelson 1, G Horneman 1
  • 1Queen Silvia Children's Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden

Objectives: 165 survivors of TBI (0–17 years) during 1987–1991 were identified. The traceable individuals (149) were invited to a neurological and neuropsychological follow-up investigation in which 53 individuals took part. Of those 53, 17 had undergone neurosurgical operations. All 53 answered a quality of life questionnaire and a 21-item symptom checklist. The age at injury, Glasgow Coma Score, length of unconciousness, and posttraumatic amnesia did not differ from the original series of 165. A control group of 40 healthy individuals matched for age and gender was evaluated with neuropsychological tests. Our aim was to analyse long-term outcome in terms of cognitive function.

Methods: Cognitive outcome assessed the following domains including intellectual functioning (attention/ concentration, memory, mental processing speed, executive functioning, verbal abilities and visuo-spatial abilities) for the 17 neurosurgically treated patients, for the 34 non surgically treated ones and for an age and gender matched control group of 40 individuals. The neuropsychological tests included the Wechsler Adult intelligence Scale (WAIS-r), the Ray Auditory Verbal learning test (RAVLT), Rey Osterrieth Complex Figure Test, Trail Making Test A+B and the Verbal Fluency Test.

Results: The control group (n=40) performed significantly better in all neuropsychological tests than the both other groups. No significant differences were seen between the group treated with neurosurgical interventions and the non-surgically treated group except for Rey Osterreith Complex Figure test subtest, immediate recall and 30min-delayed recall, were the surgically treated group were significantly impaired compared to the non treated group.

Conclusion: 10 years after injury the TBI group (n=53) showed impaired neuropsychological test results compared to an age and gender matched control group (n=40). The neurosurgically treated group had impaired visual memory compared to the non-surgically treated group.